Hello and welcome on back to another episode of the Ferris Sports Update. This week our long time host Rob Bentley is joined by Head Football Coach Tony Annese, Head Soccer Coach Greg Henson, and the Head Coach of Cross Country Jared Kelsh.
Football
Rob opened the show with our first guest Tony Annese, the head coach of the football team here at Ferris. The two talked about the recent game Ferris had against the Lake Erie College’s Storm. After the week 0 loss for the Ferris Bulldogs, the team made a strong comeback in the second game of the season with a win against the Lake Erie Storm. During the first quarter of the game the Bulldog’s offense managed to score 35 points and they didn’t stop there being at 49 by the end of the first half.
By the second half the Bulldogs had the game on lock down and though things began to slow down with only 7 points being scored by the Bulldogs. This however was not a problem as it still put the final score for the game at 56 to 3 with an excellent game played on both sides. As of now the coach and team are looking forward to this weeks home game on Saturday, September 14th against the Ashland Eagles.
Women’s Soccer
The next guest to join Rob on this episode was Greg Henson, the head coach of Ferris’ Women’s Soccer team. This year, women’s soccer has added 10 new players to the team after many members graduated over the summer. Though the team’s opponents will always be the biggest challenge throughout the year, it is always tough for new additions to the team to get quickly acclimated to the culture.
Soccer’s opening weekend saw two great performances by the squad in Henson’s eyes. The Bulldogs rallied to a tie against Cedarville, leading until the final moments of the match on Thursday, September 5. Three days after, at an away game against Indianapolis, the Bulldogs notched their first win of the season. Cedarville and Indianapolis were looked at before the season to be top contenders for the team. These two results were exactly what Henson was looking for. Though the score may show it, Henson believes that the game on Sunday was definitely the better of the two in terms of their offensive gameplay. There were a few individual players that stood out to Henson that turned up their game following the home opener. Henson believes that it is important to take things one game at a time and put forward all of their thought to the next game against Findlay on Friday, September 15.
Cross Country
The Cross Country team kicked off their season this past weekend, competing on home turf at the 49th annual Ray Helsing Bulldog Invitational. Running on a familiar course, the team benefited from the extra support of the local crowd, showcasing the hard work they put in over the summer.
On the women’s side, senior leadership played a key role with standout performances from Hanna Brock, Daisy England, Whitney Farrell, and Jessica Durkee. Each of them set personal records (PRs) and finished in the top five, highlighting the depth and experience within the team. Both teams are excited for their next race at the Michigan State University Invitational this weekend and hope to keep their momentum going. With the GLIAC Championship coming up in October, they look forward to competing at home again, encouraged by the support from the Ferris community.